EP013: Teaching young kids: 5 tips to keep elementary school children engaged and enthusia…

Episode description

Teaching high school students is very straightforward. Kids in their mid to late teens are often focused and self-motivated to learn and perform. They are thinking about college and beyond, and usually have some goals in mind that they would like to achieve. Young children, however, are not as determined to plow through hours of mathematical tutelage as their older counterparts. They are substantially more disconnected from the real world and career ambitions. Tune in to hear 5 powerful tips that can help engage young minds and motivate them to work hard.

Northstar Digital Literacy Assessments, a program of the Minnesota Literacy Council, allows users to assess their digital literacy and basic skills on the computer. The assessments are available in three key areas, …

What if the Sino-Soviet Union formed? What if Iran became communist? What if Hitler died early? These are all questions answered by Monsieur Z, a YouTube channel that began producing alternate history videos in …

Science has a tendency to be viewed as complicated and erudite, a subject with so many different branches and intricacies that it can take years to study even one discipline. But that is often to do with how science …

Nigel Braun began posting his chemistry experiments to YouTube in 2014 under the name NileRed (after the lipophilic stain) with no intention of amassing such a large audience. But now, four years later, he has over …

In the early 2000s, the Goudreau Museum closed. It was a small math museum on Long Island, but it sparked an outrage among a small group of people who met up in 2008 to open a new math museum. Despite the need for …

The struggle of finding a competent tutor for their children is one that is all too familiar to parents — sorting through slews of tutor listings that often don’t work out. TutorOcean is a company that aims to make that …

Coding can be viewed as esoteric, confusing, and definitely not for kids. But with Codemoji, this generally accepted view of computer science as complicated and dense is entirely upended. Their goal is to teach kids how …

What happens when you combine math, dogs, and trucks? Brain Candy TV is what happens. This amazing YouTube channel is based entirely on learning math and science concepts by incorporating animations of vehicles and a …

Math and art — two seemingly vastly different subjects. But despite the apparent opposition between the two, YouTuber Grant Sanderson has set out on an endeavor to combine them in his channel, 3blue1brown, named after …

What’s the easiest way to remember everything you need to know about the Red Scare? Set it to the tune of “Call Me Maybe” and replace the lyrics with a slew of facts about that moment in U.S. history, complete with a …

3D printing often seems like one of many esoteric scientific inventions that are elusive to everyone, especially students — inaccessible and apparently useless when kids are still struggling through geometry. After all, …

“Why am I learning this? When will I ever need to know this information in the real world?” Teachers, please pause for a moment while these all too familiar phrases wash over you for the millionth time. Whether your …

It all began with a podcast. Back in the early 2000s, two gentlemen, Bartosz Gonczarek and Piotr Sliwinski, were looking for a way to make podcasts come to life with fun yet simple animations. They searched and searched …

Nearly one and a half years ago, I made a YouTube video entitled “The Applications of Math.” It was my attempt to explain, in 5 minutes, all the different ways that mathematics empowers the people on this planet to …

When I think about why I ended up in education, it boils down to a single word: passion. When I delve a bit deeper into the “why,” I see that dissatisfaction with my previous vocation was also a factor. Drilling down a …

Project-based learning is the innovative way to teach students by “doing” rather than “watching.” It’s an action-oriented pedagogy that has been receiving rave reviews for its potent ability to convey information and …

As YouTube science teachers go, Professor Dave is the cream of the crop. His channel, Professor Dave Explains, has over 88,000 active subscribers to date. Professor Dave, also known as Dave Farina, has a lengthy …

After completing her training to become a pharmacist, Lisa Tran had second thoughts. Although her educational path had been long and costly, she had deep questions about whether her life was moving down the right path. …

Dr. Kaye Otten has assisted children with behavioral challenges for over 20 years. But she didn’t set out to tackle this niche area of education at the onset of her career. She began her professional journey working as …

I can say this with almost 100% certainty (perhaps 99.9%): if you are a person living on this planet, you enjoy listening to music. You may prefer the dark melodies and heavy guitar riffs of punk rock, or you might …

To date, I have worked as a private math tutor, test preparation specialist, 6th grade math teacher, and online video course creator. Part of my duties in these various positions have led me to counsel students who are …

On April 5th, 2017, I landed in San Antonio, Texas, for the very first time. Sure, I enjoy Tex-Mex, and yes, I was excited to roam the River Walk with the looming possibility of meeting Tony Parker, one of my favorite …

Every teacher must face a tough decision: “do I teach my class at a steady but slow rate to allow for everyone to keep up, or do I plow through the material in order to satisfy the advanced pocket of students while …

In this week’s student roundtable, Huzefa interviews four students to discuss the recent class trip to Yosemite! Listen in on this ripe conversation about the life altering trip that took place over five days in one of …

In this week’s student roundtable, Huzefa interviews “Billy Bob” and “Joe” to highlight their passions regarding working with younger students as well as writing poetry. Hear all about this week’s triumphs as well as …

After 35 years of waking up as late as possible, Huzefa finally turned into true morning person that loves waking up early. Join Huzefa as he describes the numerous benefits of waking up early, and moreover, how to …

In this episode, Huzefa runs through all the various number types that exist. For students and parents who want a quick refreshed on the relationship between number types (real, rational, imaginary, etc.), make sure to …

In this episode, Huzefa interviews Zach Latta, an education wunderkind leading the charge for kids who are aspiring programmers. Tune into this interview to hear all about an amazing way for kids to be proactive coders …

Huzefa touches on the hugely important area of emotional development called Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). Check out this episode to understand precisely what SEL is, why it’s so massively important, and how to …

Writing is one of the most important skills that must be mastered in life. No matter what you do professionally, you must learn to write clearly and effectively. In this episode, Huzefa shares a list of 11 amazing books …

Although Huzefa spends a great deal of time training students to succeed on standardized tests like the ISEE, SAT, ACT, and a host of others, he takes a step back this episode to assess whether standardized tests hurt …

After completing an amazing workshop about Design Thinking, Huzefa shares everything he learned about this practical and immersive pedagogy. Join Huzefa to hear all about Design Thinking so that you can modify the way …

Huzefa takes a look at the fad that has swept the world: Pokemon Go! After checking out the game himself and researching the issue robustly, Huzefa offers his opinion on the game and let’s parents know that he’s not a …

In this episode, Huzefa runs through the top 30 under 30 education innovators in the EdTech space. Huzefa shares this list from a Forbes Magazine article, noting the most interesting companies to check out along the …

Huzefa recounts his first attempt at using Responsive Classroom techniques during a lecture presented at a self development conference. Hear precisely how the various techniques were integrated, and moreover, how this …

Huzefa shares an article from Forbes Education that lists the 20 universities world wide that have created the most millionaires. Take a listen to see how your alma matter stacks up, and moreover, how the information …

Join Huzefa as he enumerates his top reasons for loving his life as an educator. See if these reasons resonate with you, and moreover, if there are tidbits of information and insight about education that you can apply …

In this continuation of episode 66, Huzefa discusses the ins and out of flipped learning. He also shares insights from an educator who has now recorded and released over 100 videos for his class as part of his flipped …

Vicki Glembocki recently wrote an article on parents.com that offers some amazing tips and insights on how to get kids to stop ignoring and start obeying. The beauty of the article is that the advice is logical, …

While teaching math to a 4th grade class, Huzefa decided to use the Jeopardy game to excite his kids and engender a bit of enthusiasm about math. What he saw was astounding. The kids were extremely engaged during the …

After taking a break from coffee himself, Huzefa shares his thoughts along with two articles on the pros and cons of coffee. One article espouses 7 benefits of drinking coffee, while the other provides 10 negative …

Huzefa discusses the new trend of the gamification of education across all subjects and topics. He shares from several articles on edublogger to provide a thorough and well rounded perspective about the pros and cons of …

Huzefa is joined by Tsubasa Manabe, a former professional poker player who has been in some of the highest stakes online poker games in the history of the sport. Tsubasa shares his journey into the poker world as well …

Join Huzefa as he explains precisely what IQ, or intelligence quotient, actually measures and why it’s an effective predictor for academic and economic success. Finally, Huzefa goes through the 10 people alive today …

Huzefa shares 10 apps to help kids grow their math fluency in a fun way. Monica Burns, founder of ClassTechTips.com, has written an excellent article on the topic that Huzefa parses on the show. Check out these …

So what do you do when panic strikes and your mind draws a blank? How do you re-center yourself and charge forward with ferocity and confidence? What you do is this: write everything down from the problem. This is the …

In this episode, Huzefa offers five tips to help teach young kids how to manage time effectively. Admittedly, time management gets easier with age, but there are concrete steps that parents can take to help young kids …

On this special episode, Huzefa is joined by his dad to talk about mechanical engineering and its strong connection with math. If your child has an interest in engineering, this is an information packed episode.

Music and academics go hand in hand. Join Huzefa for this episode as he explains precisely why music education is a key part of a well rounded education, and moreover, how music immersion can shape brain structure for …

Athletic participation can have a huge positive impact on academic performance. Huzefa parses precisely why athletics are so good for academic participation, and moreover, how to be supportive regarding athletics. …

In order to get an authentic and sincere feel for the revamped and redesigned SAT, I personally took a real life SAT in May of 2016. To hear about my experience with the test (as well as to hear my score), check out …

If the idea of trading commodities and currencies interests you, check out this episode. Former arbitrage trade Jasper Ribbers describes the life of a trader after working for one of the best trading firms in the world …

Of all the important academic exercises, none are as critical to your success as routine reading. Throughout your education, teachers will assign mounds of textbook reading in social studies, English, the sciences, and …

If you enjoy books like Freakonomics, this episode is for you! Dr. Michael Housman joins the show to discuss his work in the data science industry, and how he has made astonishing discoveries about human behavior by …

Learn how mathematics is intricately connected to video game design and development. Howard Marks, the founder of Activision, joins the show to talk about why math knowledge is so fundamental to building video games. …

While it may sound bizarre and made up, math anxiety is an actual condition that is quite common amongst students. It is similar to other sorts of anxiety or fear a person might encounter when doing something that is …

Join Huzefa as he chats with Aris, one of his most dedicated pupils from Northern California. Aris candidly discusses his journey as a student with dyslexia, explaining how he eventually overcame his learning difference …